Pocket tissue case and tissue packet therefor



July 3, 1951 E. J. BARRETT POCKET TISSUE CASE AND TISSUE PACKET THEREFOR FIG. 4

FIG.5

Filed June 23, 1947 INVENTOR EDWARD J. BARRETT AT 1 ORNEY Patented July 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POCKET TISSUE CASE. AND TISSUE PACKET THEREFOR Edward J. Barrett} Ilei'nay, Mo; ApplicationJune'23, 1947, Serial N0. 756,476

4' claims. 1

This invention relates to a pocket tissue case or: container for'sanitary handkerchiefs or tissues and to a tissue packet therefor.

It is an object of the invention-to provide a pockettissue case of the type'described which-- is small and compact in size, is neat-inappearance, is -economical to manufacture and-whichmay be kept for repeated use as a personal item, possession or'souvenir.

Another object-of the invention is'to provide a-pocket-tissue case having'a side outlet opening and I a" top' thumb opening arranged to present a portion of a tissue separately and independently folded as a part of -atissue packet for quick and easy withdrawal frorn'the case;

A further objectof the invention resides in the provision ofa tissue packetforuse with a pocket tissue -caseofthe typedescribed, in which the separate-- tissues of the'packet are individually folded for independent withdrawal.

It is also intended as an object-of the invention to provide a tissue packet for' use-with acase of the type described in which 'the separate tissues are folded" in a-novel manner so-thait a portion of the outside tissue ofthe packet neXt'to be withdrawnalways" acts as a protectivecoverin g for' the remainder of the-packet to maintain'it ifr-a sanitary condition, this said portion ofthe tissue being the only part thereof exposed tothe outlet openingof the case;

Briefly stated, the invention contemplates a pocket tissue case comprising a thin rectangularly shaped container formed in two sections of molded plastic material which 'are held together by friction lugs. thumb opening which communicates with an outlet slot cut entirely out of the. lower section of the caseext'end'ing' substantially"throughout its length j A tissue packet is -provided for'th'e'vcase in which each tissue is folded separately and independently-from theothers; Each of the tissues, which are substantially: rectangular inform; are

'folded intiall-y by turning the ends thereof? upwardly and inwardlyuntil they are opposed to each other with a small space interval separating them. A, plurality of separatetissues thus-folded are placed one upon the other-and the=composite pack thus formed is folded once over so that a packet is formed characterized by a rounded side face, which face is placed in the case to abut the outlet opening therein.

A more comprehensive understanding of the invention will be afiorded from the following de- The top section has cut therein a Fig. 1' is anisometri'c view of a pocket tissue case embodying the instant invention,

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereof showing a tissue packet enclosed therein,

Fig. 3- is a detail-view illustrating the friction lug-s employed to hold the two sections of the case together, Y

Fig. 4-is an end-view of a tissue-pack illustrating the initial steps of folding the same in accordance with the instant invention, and

Fig. 5-is a view similar to that of Fig. 4=-illustrating the final stepin folding the tissue packet.

As-illustratedin Fig. 1, a pocket'tissue-case is shownwhichem-bodies the instant invention in its preferred-form; The casec'omprises an upper section Hand a-lower'section lz. The former-is providedwith a thum'hopening ['3 which communicateswith an elongated slot 14 forming a tissue outlet for'the case. The latter is made by a notch I5' WhiCh'iS cut entirely from the lower outside end wall of the lower section" l2, all-as shown in Fig. 3.

A tissue packet 2 l is provided for usewith the case just described which occupies a position therein as shown in Fig. 2, This tissue packet ismadeupof aplura-lity of sanitary tissues which are folded in a novelmanner, now to bedescribed.

Asillustrated in- Fig. 4, each of the tissues are folded-separately and independentl of each other and are stacked one upon the other, the initial folds of the separate tissues being made at 22 and Z3; sov that the ends 24 and 25 thereof lie above the body 26-ofthe tissue in oppositelyopposed relationship with a space '2'! therebetween.

Once the tissue packet is arranged as shown in Fig; 4, the composite pack of tissues is folded once at its center sothat aportion 28 of the bOdYF-Of the top tissue on the stack forms a protective cover for the" remainder of the packet when the same is placed in the case as shown in Fig. 2. As the tissues are withdrawn from the case, each successive portion 28 of the tissues remaining in the packet provides a similar protective covering for the unused tissues.

As seen in Fig. 2, the thumb opening l3 in the top section extends inwardly at a sufficient distance to present the end 24 of the top tissue in drawn. It is to be observed at this point, and

with further reference to Fig. 2, that the withdrawal opening l4 lies below the center line of the case and that it occupies a position with respect to the lower half portion of each of the tissues in the packet which is substantially level with the lower half of the portion 28 of each folded tissue. Thus, the last half of the tissue is presented directly to the'outlet opening upon withdrawal. This positionment of the outlet opening 14 together with the manner in which the tissues are folded, prevents the clogging of tissues upon withdrawal and the consequent tearing thereof.

With further reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the folded portion 28 of each of the tissues is presented to the outlet opening I4 of the case, and for all practical purposes is the only part thereof which is subjected to any foreign matter that might enter the case. Accordingly, this portion of the folded tissue acts as a protective cover to maintain the remainder of the packet sanitary.

Another feature of the invention which should be mentioned resides in the novel folded tissue packet. This feature more particularly relates to the combined use of the tissue packet for household purposes and for use within the pocket case just described. Thus, the tissues may be folded and packaged commercially as shown in Fig. 4 for household use, the same being contained in packages of well known form. For use with the pocket case, all that is required is to take a suitable supply from the household package and fold them as illustrated in Fig. 5 for use with the pocket case.

of supply for filling or refilling the pocket case.

In this manner, tissues packaged for household use may serve as a source.

tissues singly through said slot, such end of an outside tissue is always present at said thumb opening.

2. A tissue package as defined in claim 1 in which the slot is nearer the bottom wall than the top wall.

3. In a tissue case, an upper section having a top wall, a pair of end walls, a rear wall, a curved front wall, said upper section having formed therein a thumb opening beginning in said top wall and extending down through said curved front wall, a lower section having a bottom wall,

a pair of end walls, a rear wall, and a front wall,

Various changes may be made in the details of construction, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of this,"

invention. Parts of the invention may be used without the whole and improvements may be added while retaining some or all of the advantages of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A tissue package comprising a case having a top wall, a bottom wall, a rear wall, a curved front wall, two end walls, with a narrow longitudinal slot in said curved front wall, and a thumb opening in said top wall, the last mentioned thumb opening communicating with said slot, and a pack of tissues in the case, each of which is folded independently of the other, said tissues each being first folded so that the ends thereof lie against a central section of the tissue,

said tissues being stacked one upon the other and finally folded once as a composite pack to provide a curved edge therefor formed by said central section, the folded tissues being arranged in the case so that a folded end of a tissue is adjacent said slot and underlying said thumb opening, and upon progressive removal of the said lower section having a cut-out portion in said front wall constructed and arranged to form a narrow longitudinal slot communicating with said thumb opening when the lower edge of said curved front wall of the upper section occupies an adjacent position in assembled relation, a releasable securing means constructed and arranged to hold the upper and lower sections in adjacent vertical and horizontal alignment, and a pack of tissues in said case, each of which is folded so that the ends thereof lie against a central section of the tissue, said tissues being stacked one upon the other and finally folded once as a composite pack to provide a curved edge therefor formed by said central section, the folded tissues being arranged in the case so that a folded end of a tissue is adjacent said slot and underlying said thumb opening, and upon progressive removal of the tissues singly through said slot, such end of an outside tissue is always present at said thumb opening.

4. A tissue package comprising a case having a top wall, a bottom wall, a pair of end walls, a rear wall'and a curved front wall, said case having formed therein a thumb opening beginning in the top wall and extending down through a portion of said curved front wall into communication with a narrow longitudinal slot extending substantially the full length of said curved front wall, and a pack of tissues in the said case, each tissue being individually folded so as to 5 present an edge at the said thumb opening and the plurality of tissues collectively folded upon themselves as to provide a'pack with a curved side adjacent said curved front wall, whereby the exposed edge of the top tissue may be slid down and extracted through the said slot in the case.

EDWARD J. BARRETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,212,068 Jones et al Jan. 9, 191'? 2,046,869 Burke July '7, 1936 2,195,622 Fourness et al Apr. 2, 1940 2,460,306 Patterson Feb. 1, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 437,718 France Feb. 24, 1912 

